🔫 Lasers — LaserCube & Disco Ball Control
The Forest of Light uses 8 laser units across two independent systems: 4 Wifi LaserCube 2.5W units controlled via LaserOS software and triggered by Chataigne MIDI commands, plus 4 KeoBin LA300 disco ball party lasers powered on/off via DMX through an ADJ DP-415R dimmer pack. Two LaserCubes connect via USB Ethernet dongles on private networks for the Butterfly and Flower projections, and two connect via WiFi for the Saloon zone. The KeoBin units are located by the disco ball and are completely separate from the LaserCube system.
Hardware Specifications
All 4 LaserCube units are identical in model and firmware.
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Model | Wifi LaserCube 2.5W |
| Model Number | 1 |
| Firmware | 0.23 |
| DAC Rate | 30,000 pps |
| Max DAC Rate | 30,000 pps |
| Buffer | 6,000 points |
| Power | Charger Connected (permanent installation) |
Unit Details
| Property | LC1 — Butterfly | LC2 — Flower | LC3 — Saloon | LC4 — Saloon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Butterfly Projector | Flower Projector | Saloon | Saloon |
| Host Mac | forest-mac2 (10.50.0.31) | forest-mac3 (10.50.0.32) | forest-mac1 (10.50.0.30) | forest-mac1 (10.50.0.30) |
| Network ID | 885721D27E74 | 885721D281AC | 483 8A4ACEC | 885721D2F378 |
| MAC Address | 88:57:21:D2:7E:74 |
88:57:21:D2:81:AC |
04:83:08:A4:AC:EC |
88:57:21:D2:F3:78 |
| IP Address | 10.0.0.10 |
192.168.1.1 |
10.50.0.192 |
10.50.0.193 |
| Connection Mode | Ethernet Server (USB dongle) | Ethernet Server (USB dongle) | Ethernet Client (WiFi) | Ethernet Client (WiFi) |
| Network Type | Private 10.0.0.x via USB ETH | Private 192.168.1.x via USB ETH | Main network 10.50.0.x WiFi | Main network 10.50.0.x WiFi |
| Temperature | 29°C | 31°C | 22°C | 25°C |
| Interlock | Enabled | Enabled | DISABLED (should be enabled) | Enabled |
| Buffer Used | 0 / 6000 | 1742 / 6000 | 0 / 6000 | 0 / 6000 |
Connection Architecture
MIDI Control — Hotkey Mappings
| Cube | Config File | MIDI Note | Action | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LC1 Butterfly | hotkeysbutterfly.ldh |
C2 | Laser toggle (arm/disarm) | laserButton_LdLaserMenuItem |
| LC1 Butterfly | hotkeysbutterfly.ldh |
D0 | Play ILDA pattern | Playlists/Butrerfly/ILDA - Butterfly01 |
| LC2 Flower | hotkeysflower.ldh |
C1 | Laser toggle (arm/disarm) | laserButton_LdLaserMenuItem |
| LC2 Flower | hotkeysflower.ldh |
D1 | Play animation | Animations/Love/Flower with Hearts |
| LC2 Flower | hotkeysflower.ldh |
E1 | Timeline play/pause | tl_togglePlayButton |
| LC3 Saloon | hotkeyssaloon.ldh |
C0 | Laser toggle (arm/disarm) | laserButton_LdLaserMenuItem |
| LC4 Saloon | — | — | Controlled via LC3 hotkeys | Same LaserOS instance |
Chataigne octave mapping:
- Octave 2 —
Projector.noisetteon Mac2: C2 = Butterfly toggle, D2 = Butterfly ILDA pattern - Octave 1 —
flower.noisetteon Mac3: C1 = Flower toggle, D1 / D♯1 / E1 = Flower patterns & timeline - Octave 0 — Main Chataigne on Mac1: C0 = Saloon laser toggle
Chataigne Integration
The laser control chain flows through three Chataigne instances distributed across the Mac Minis:
| Instance | Host | Role | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Chataigne | Mac1 (10.50.0.30) | Saloon lasers (LC3 + LC4) + relay to Mac2/Mac3 | Sends WS /laser to Mac2 and Mac3 for Butterfly/Flower. Directly controls Saloon lasers (LC3 at .192, LC4 at .193) via MIDI/WiFi. |
| Projector.noisette | Mac2 (10.50.0.31) | Butterfly laser (LC1) | Receives /laser from Mac1, fires MIDI Note On at Octave 2 → LC1 via USB ETH (10.0.0.x) |
| flower.noisette | Mac3 (10.50.0.32) | Flower laser (LC2) | Receives /laser from Mac1, fires MIDI Note On at Octave 1 → LC2 via USB ETH (192.168.1.x) |
Home Assistant Entities
| Entity | Controls |
|---|---|
input_boolean.saloon_lasers | Saloon zone (LC3 & LC4) |
input_boolean.flower_laser | Flower projector (LC2) |
input_boolean.butterfly_laser | Butterfly projector (LC1) |
Show Schedule
| Time | Event | Chain |
|---|---|---|
| 17:00 | HA turns ON all 3 laser booleans | Home Assistant → Node-RED → Chataigne → MIDI → LaserCubes arm |
| 21:30 | HA turns OFF all 3 laser booleans | Cascade off through same chain |
Safety & Warnings
LC3 (Saloon) — Interlock DISABLED. All other LaserCube units have the safety interlock enabled. LC3's interlock is currently disabled, which bypasses the hardware safety lockout. This should be investigated and corrected before the next show season.
Permanent charger power. All 4 LaserCube units are connected to permanent chargers. The battery level indicator shows "Charger Connected" rather than a percentage — this is expected for a fixed installation.
Butterfly playlist folder typo. The LaserOS playlist folder for the Butterfly pattern is named
Butrerfly (missing the second “t”) instead of Butterfly. The MIDI hotkey target path reflects this typo: Playlists/Butrerfly/ILDA - Butterfly01. Renaming the folder will require updating the hotkey config file.
Notes
| Topic | Detail |
|---|---|
| USB Ethernet mode | LC1 and LC2 use Ethernet Server mode — the LaserCube acts as the DHCP server and the Mac acts as a client. This creates an isolated private network between the dongle and the cube. |
| WiFi mode | LC3 and LC4 use Ethernet Client mode — the LaserCube joins the main WiFi network (10.50.0.x) and receives MIDI over the LAN. |
| Different private subnets | Each USB Ethernet connection uses a different private subnet: Butterfly = 10.0.0.x, Flower = 192.168.1.x. They are on separate dongles and separate interfaces — there is no conflict. |
| Documentation correction | The wiki previously documented the USB ETH subnets as 192.168.2.x — this was incorrect. The correct ranges are 10.0.0.x (Butterfly) and 192.168.1.x (Flower). |
Disco Ball Lasers — KeoBin LA300
Four KeoBin LA300 party lasers are mounted by the disco ball. These are a completely separate system from the 4 LaserCubes and have no intelligent control — they simply fire built-in patterns whenever they receive power.
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Model | KeoBin LA300 |
| Quantity | 4 units |
| Location | Disco ball area |
| Control type | None (non-addressable) — simple power on/off only |
| DMX device | DMX13 — 10.50.0.152 |
| Power control | ADJ DP-415R dimmer pack |
| DMX controller | Chataigne Art-Net |
Non-addressable operation. The KeoBin LA300 units cannot be individually addressed or programmed. They fire their built-in patterns automatically whenever they are powered on. Control is limited to switching power on or off via DMX channel on the ADJ DP-415R dimmer pack (DMX13 at
10.50.0.152), driven by Chataigne Art-Net. There is no MIDI, no LaserOS, and no per-unit targeting — all 4 units switch together.
Separate from LaserCubes. The KeoBin LA300s are completely independent of the 4 LaserCube units. They share no network connections, software, or control logic with the LaserCube system. Total laser count for the installation is 8 units (4 LaserCubes + 4 KeoBin LA300s).